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Tommy hadn't meant to run for a living. He supposed he got practice for it running from the police, and it had always stood him in good stead, but as a career? He wasn't the sort of person who got lucky like that. However, he was sixteen, in juvie again, and some guy claiming to be a trainer (Jean-Paul) strolled in wearing designer boots and claimed he was looking for somebody to change. To 'make a difference'.Tommy didn't want to be a charity case, and much less some rich guy's tool to mend his guilty conscience, but he ran alongside the other kids, if only to prove that he was better than them. "You've got a real talent," Jean-Paul said, pulling Tommy aside after a while. "We can do great things, I think."Tommy didn't want to give the smug man the satisfaction, but he really wanted to be granted probation, and so he accepted the offer of free training and left the city without telling his parents. Six years later, following gruelling workout regimes, a diet measured to the calorie and a whole lot of public scrutiny, Tommy was arriving home from his second Olympics, three gold medals tucked safely in his bag. He got back to his apartment late, only being stopped in the streets eight times, and he made his way to collapse on the sofa, ready to sleep for half a day before doing anything. His plan was foiled by one Kate Bishop, perched on an armchair, illuminated only the moon glaring in through the window. "What the fuck, Kate?!" He demanded, removing his hand from its position clamped over his heart. "Well done, Tommy," she said in response, a genuine smile on her face. "You were better than Tokyo for sure.""Kate, what is this?" Tommy fell onto the sofa, running a hand through his hair as he locked eyes with his friend. "You didn't reply to my email," Kate pouted. "This stupid gala my dad's having for the company- you guys will make it more bearable.""Who's coming?" Tommy asked, rather than try and work his way out of it. He knew Kate, and she was relentless in her methods of getting her way. Tommy was too tired to fight. "Billy and Teddy," Tommy faked a groan, and Kate rolled her eyes with an amused smile before continuing, "America, of course, Loki, Noh might stop by, and David.""Who's David?" Tommy asked. "I keep forgetting you weren't with us when we went on that road trip." Kate nodded. "Jean-Paul was probably working me to the ground," Tommy commented drily, and Kate hummed in agreement. "Anyway, it's David Alleyne.""Oh, the singer?" Tommy perked up. The singer was talented, Tommy had a few of his songs on his phone. It was some kind of soul funk fusion that probably shouldn't have worked as well as it did. “Yeah, he and America have been friends for a while and she introduced us. He’s a nice guy. You’ll like him.” There was an unreadable expression on Kate’s face for a moment, which would have made Tommy squirm if he hadn’t become immune to embarrassment with his friend. “When is this thing again?” Tommy was yawning before he could stop himself, opening his mouth wide and stretching his arms above his head. He grinned when Kate wrinkled her nose, complaining,“I don’t need to see what you had for breakfast, Tommy.” He simply shrugged, running a hand through his hair as she ploughed on, “Its this Saturday, seven till twelve, at the Godfrey Hall. I’ve sent you all the information.”Perhaps it was fatigue, or perhaps because he was still so elated from his wins, but Tommy agreed with a smile on his face. *When Saturday arrived, Tommy prayed for some sort of small scale disaster to prevent him from going to Kate’s gala. Billy and Teddy crowded into his apartment, displaying reams of clothing and looking happy while doing it, while Tommy attempted to drown them out with the episode of Friends playing on the television. “Don’t wear the red, Tommy,” Billy sang, plucking the shirt Tommy had set out off the bed. “I’m wearing red.”“So?”“So we look enough alike as it is. Wear green.” Teddy reached into the pile of clothes on an armchair and threw an olive green shirt at Tommy, snickering when it landed on his head. With a huff, the speedster tugged it away and admired the shirt. It was all right.Tommy rolled his eyes. “Yes, mum.”Billy grinned. “I’ll call her if it makes you stop pissing me off.”“There’s no need for threats,” Tommy mumbled, standing up and rifling through the selection of trousers and suit jackets on offer.“Have you looked at the guest list?” Teddy asked mildly. He was standing in his boxers and undershirt, brow furrowed in concentration as he ironed his own shirt. Billy nodded excitedly, while Tommy shook his head, looking at his brother with interest as he unlocked his phone and began swiping through.“A lot of big names,” the brunet started, flopping down onto his back. “Tony Stark and Pepper Potts, Captain Steve Rogers, Danny Rand and Misty Knight, Professor Charles Xavier… Our grandfather.” He looked at Tommy pointedly before continuing, “As well as a bunch of people we already know- oh, you’re going to finally meet David!”“David’s great,” Teddy agreed, handing Billy his trousers and starting on Tommy’s.“Everyone keeps going on about this David,” Tommy moaned. Billy and Teddy caught each others’ eyes and smirked, causing Tommy to shoot upwards indignantly. “What?!”Billy shrugged and pulled on his trousers. “Nothing.”“Seriously: what?”“Get dressed quickly,” Teddy instructed, rather than answer Tommy’s burning question. “Limo will be here in twenty.”*The event was undeniably beautiful.The Godfrey Hall was an intimidating building, with large arching windows looking out to an expanse of green hills, surrounded by tall trees. Inside the building, gleaming chandeliers glowed down upon the hundreds of patrons, causing the black and white checkerboard of marble flooring to glimmer.Dozens of tables lined the building with towering centrepieces, each place set carefully with an ornate name tag, while at the front of the room, a live band continued to play smooth lounge music as the rich and wealthy networked easily. As confident as Tommy always appeared, in social events such as these, he was always nervous. He clung to the brother he pretended to dislike and drank champagne while waiting for dinner to finally be served.“Thank God you guys are finally here!”Tommy, Billy and Teddy turned to see Kate tottering towards them in killer stilettos, dressed in a lilac cocktail dress which complimented the amethysts dangling from her ears.Her cheeks were flushed pink, and she leant on America for support as they finally came to a standstill.“Hey, Katie,” Tommy greeted, stepping forward and pulling the woman into a hug. She pressed a soft kiss to his cheek, before reaching down and slipping his half-finished glass out of his hand. “Thanks,” she mumbled, draining the contents and winking when Tommy gawked at her incredulously.“Tommy!” America replaced Kate as her girlfriend moved on to hug the other two men, clapping Tommy on the back as he laughed.“How’s it been so far?” America rolled her eyes. “Just like it always is. Boring old white men measuring dicks. Hey, I forgot to congratulate you for your relay win! I’d already left, sorry.”Tommy waved a dismissive hand. “Nah, I get it. Well done to you too! Gold in judo for your first Olympics isn’t bad.”She laughed and nudged him in the ribs. “Yeah, I’m pretty happy.”Moments later, dinner was finally announced, and there was a rush of movement as people moved to look at the seating plan and find their places.Kate, of course, was sitting at the head table, with her parents and sister, looking bored as she did so. She had obviously pulled some strings with the seating, however, as Billy and Teddy were together on a table of musty looking business people, and Tommy was sitting beside America, just a table away.“David!” America was looking past Tommy to the seat on his other side, grinning widely as she greeted the person who had just arrived.“Hi, America.”Tommy turned around, slowly, to catch sight of the famous David Alleyne, and managed to choke (briefly) on his tongue.“Hi,” Tommy got out, holding out a hand to the man who had just arrived.David slipped his hand into Tommy’s and smiled. “Hi, I’m David.”Tommy eyed the deep blue shirt David wore under his black suit jacket, the yellow framed glasses which should have been hideous, and the bright smile he was flashing in his direction, and replied,“I’m Tommy.”“Tommy and I were in Madrid just last week together,” America stepped in, and David pulled his hand out of Tommy’s grip before nodding.“I was watching. Well done, both of you.”“Thanks,”Tommy said, mentally cursing himself for being so eager. He willed himself to relax as he continued, “You’re an amazing artist, by the way. I’ve listened to some of your stuff.”“Wow, thank you.”The trio sat in a comfortable silence as starters were delivered (scallops and mushrooms, both of which Tommy hated) but began conversation again once they started to eat.“So how do you know everyone?” David asked. Tommy, downing red wine, swallowed hastily and answered, “Kate and I used to train at the same centre- she does archery and I was obviously running. She introduced Billy and I to Teddy, Noh and Loki- they have some rich kid club, I think. I met America at some American sports federation meet a couple of years ago and introduced her to the group.
“I know those are the guys you’ve met? We have a few other friends we don’t see a lot: Eli, Cassie and Jonas.”“Cassie and Jonas are both at university out of state,” America piped. “And Eli volunteers for the Peace Corps.”“Yeah, you’ve mentioned them,” David mused, before turning back to Tommy. “They sound cool.”“We should try and hang out, altogether some time.” Tommy felt his cheeks warm, and heard America snicker to his left, but ignored it in favour of watching David’s face split into yet another smile. “Yeah, definitely. I’m actually heading for a US tour next month and Kate usually buys up the VIP areas…”“I’ve got nothing to do,” Tommy lied. He had The World Athletic Championships to train for, as well as meetings with impoverished children and those in juvenile halls (or at risk) which, while he loved, took up a lot of time. Crab-stuffed lobster tail arrived, and the conversation between the trio continued. They talked about how they each had gotten into their profession (America had been scouted at a high school competition, David had attended music school and been discovered there); they spoke about the pros and cons of their careers in the public eyes,“Especially as three LGBT people,” America had said, and Tommy couldn’t hide his glee when David confirmed that he was bisexual.Dessert, a matcha mousse cake, came and went with ease, and then people were standing up again, leaving their tables with cheque books in hand, ready to make sizable donations to a cause they weren’t even aware of.After the trio made their own donations, the whole group reconvened, close to the doors of the banquet hall.As David greeted the members of the group he hadn’t yet spoken to, Billy sidled up to his brother, a mischievous smirk on his face.“So you met David, huh?” Tommy jolted, tearing his eyes away from the singer, who was engulfed in a hug from Noh Varr. He looked over to his brother and mumbled, “Huh?” still reeling as David caught his attention yet again, just peeking into the blond’s periphery.“He’s nice, right?”Tommy hummed and nodded. “Yeah,” he said softly. “Really nice.”Billy continued, still smiling. “And he’s single.”“Yeah?” He was wistful for a moment, before rounding on his brother, embarrassed. “Hey!”Billy raised his hands in surrender, relaxing when Teddy approached, lingering behind him. “Just, you know, follow him on Instagram and go from there.”“Or you could ask him out now, when you’re literally in the same room after spending an evening together,” Teddy suggested.Tommy swatted at his brother and rolled his eyes. *The evening promptly died at twelve. Most of the guests had left earlier than that, citing important meetings or interviews, and by the end of the night it was mostly Kate’s family and the young woman’s friends, sitting on benches in the back garden.“They’ll make us clear out soon,” Kate sighed, glancing up towards the stars. She had sobered slightly, but spoke wistfully as she sat with her friends.“We could go back to mine and Noh’s place,” Loki offered, his sharp grin intimidating. “Can’t,” David answered reluctantly. Tommy, hyper-aware of the heat radiating from the man next to him, turned his head in a way he hoped was casual to look at him. “I’m in the studio tomorrow. Nine AM.”“Gross.” America wrinkled her nose. “But I’ve got an early start too, I’m afraid.”Kate flung herself into America’s arms, pouting. “Boo. Well, I’m coming to yours, if the offer still stands.”Billy and Teddy also agreed to go back to continue the night’s festivities, and soon all eyes were on Tommy, watching him expectantly. “Tom? You coming?” Teddy was pulling his jacket back over his shoulders, holding a hand out to help Billy up from his seat.“Uh…” Tommy was tired, but he was also sure that if David was ready to stay up to the early hours, he would have found a way to do the same. As it was, David was departing, and as much as he would normally love to go and drink at his friends’ house…“I should probably get back home.”Noh Varr rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything, slipping an arm around Kate and leading the group to their car.“Good night, losers!” He called, before climbing into the vehicle. It stood still for a moment, before the engine started and the car disappeared behind the trees surrounding the winding driveway.“Well, I’ll be seeing you two soon, I guess,” America said quickly. She tugged on her own jacket and pulled them into a hug at the same time, squeezing tightly before pulling away. “Get home safe,” David said with a smile, waving as America made her way into the back of another car, leaving just three waiting. One for the Bishop family, one for David, and one for Tommy. “So, it was really nice meeting you,” David continued, looking at Tommy. The runner blinked stupidly for a moment, locking eyes with David and keeping the eye contact for a painfully long time.“Yeah! Yeah, you too. Great meeting you.” Tommy scuffed his shoes on the gravel of the driveway and shoved his hands into his trouser pockets. After a moment, he pulled them back out, tapping his thumbs against the pads of his fingers rapidly. “I’ll see you soon?” David offered, almost hopeful. Tommy considered answered, ‘Yeah, the group will definitely hang out at some point soon- maybe we’ll get lunch. Noh Varr will make another group chat, probably, and I’ll talk to you there. Bye!’However, he instantly reconsidered, instead replying, “How about tomorrow? I know a great noodle place we could go to after you finish recording?”David regarded him with a soft look in his eyes, the slightest smile on his face. Tommy could feel heat on his cheeks, but couldn’t find it in himself to be embarrassed; instead he continued to toe the gravel beneath his feet lightly, heart thrumming as he waited for an answer.“I’d like that.”“Y- yeah?” Tommy’s face split into a grin, which David mirrored.“Does four work for you?” David continued.“Totally,” Tommy breathed, involuntarily taking a step forward. “I can, uh, meet you at your studio?”“Great. I’ll see you then.” David paused as though he wanted to say, or do something more, but thought differently and turned away. He offered Tommy one last smile before he climbed into one of the waiting cars, closing the door softly behind him. Tommy watched as the car vanished, a dazed grin on his face. His car’s driver honked once, drawing him out of his stupor, but even as he apologised for keeping the woman waiting for so long, he continued to smile giddily, already counting down the hours until four.